News

London Ashford Airport at Lydd is claiming widespread support from local people and businesses for new air routes.

The airport is awaiting a decision from Shepway District Council on two planning applications; a 294m extension to the runway, and a new passenger terminal building capable of handling 500,000 passengers a year.

Leah Taylor, on behalf of the airport, is reported in a local newspaper saying: "Responding to new research carried out by the airport's marketing team, the majority of those surveyed said they would prefer to fly from a smaller regional airport such as Lydd, where passengers can check in just 30 minutes before departure, than travel from a busy London airport.

"The survey asked people to name the domestic and European destinations they would most like to fly to from Lydd. Paris and Jersey came top of the list, along with Dublin and Amsterdam, while the UK domestic routes in most demand included Newcastle, Exeter, Manchester and Edinburgh.

"Typical holiday destinations such as Malaga, the Canary Islands and Alicante also proved popular.

"We conducted the survey to give residents and businesses the chance to have their say on the destinations they fly to most frequently, and whether or not they feel it's important to have commercial air services available from Lydd. The questionnaire was also available online and proved just as popular as the postal survey."

The airport's managing director, Zaher Deir, said "This enthusiastic response shows there is a huge demand for air travel services in this region. We're in talks with a number of commercial airline operators and the opinions of local travellers are critical in helping us to provide the kind of services and routes that will benefit them the most."

Residents and businesses can add their comments and put forward their preferred destinations.

If you'd like to take part in the survey, contact LAA's Public Relations Executive, Jo Oliver, on 01797 322463 to request a copy or email  jo.oliver@lydd-airport.co.uk.